Kazakhstan goaltender Andrei Shutov (right) poses with Cole Caufield (left) of the United States and Brady Tkachuk (of the United States) during the USA vs. Kazakhstan game in the preliminary round of the World Ice Hockey Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Save in front of the center). Republic, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
PRAGUE (AP) – Captain Brady Tkachuk scored three power-play goals and added an assist to help the United States defeat Kazakhstan 10-1 at the World Ice Hockey Championship on Sunday.
With the fourth win, the United States moves into second place in Group B with 13 points, one ahead of Germany, which will play Latvia in the qualifying round on Tuesday.
Johnny Gaudreau had one goal and four assists, setting an American record with 43 points, one more than Patrick Kane.
Matt Boldy had two goals and four assists, Brock Nelson and Luke Kunin had one goal and one assist, and Gavin Brindley and Kevin Hayes also scored.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 13 saves.
In a four-goal opening, Tkachuk tipped in a shot from Zach Werenski on the power play to extend the U.S. lead to 2-0, then buried a rebound on the power play to make it 4-0.
He also scored a one-time shot from the right circle on the power play in the final period, completing his hat trick and extending his advantage to 8-0.
Alikhan Omirbekov scored the winning goal against Kazakhstan when his team was losing 0-9.
In Group A, Austria defeated Norway 4-1 to tie for fourth place with Finland.
The top four from each group advance to the playoff round.
Later on Sunday, Canada will play Switzerland in a battle for first place in Group A, a two-team race that has already qualified for the playoffs, while Slovakia will play Latvia in Group B.
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